An Interview with Max!

Share

Mar 01, 2016

An Interview with Max!

Hey Max! Thanks for sitting down to talk to us. I know you've been busy lately. Can you tell us about yourself?

I'm almost four years old and have spent time in foster and in the shelter, so APA knows a lot about me. I've been labeled an Australian Cattle dog so I've got some herding tendencies. I'm super smart (if I do say so myself) and enjoy fun outings and playing games to get yummy treats.

Any relationships you want to tell us about?

Well, I definitely don't kiss on the first date!! It's best if you go through my agency, AKA Mike, the Dog Program Behavior Manager, AKA Master Treat Dispenser, to set up an appointment to meet me (email [email protected] to learn more). I have a great routine for meeting new people. It could take a few dates to get to know you, but I'm well worth the effort. I'm not particularly high maintenance, but I want to ease into any relationship.

I also have many human friends here at the shelter that help me be the best pet I can be -- even teaching me silly tricks! They take me on field trips and for long walks and keep me active while I wait for the perfect relationship to come along. I also have some great basic obedience like walking on leash, sits on commands. I even slide into place like a runner headed for home base!

Do you have any cool tricks?
I'm a life-long learner. As soon as I master one obedience cue, I'm ready for the next. Most recently, I've learned 'shake' but only with my left paw. My favorite game is 'pick a hand' where I have to sniff a treat out in my human's fist and use my paw to tell which hand it is! Since I'm part of working dog breed, I do best if I have a job. I recently got to do some scent work and it was awesome since there's lots of treats involved.

We heard about your recent TV appearance. Care to comment?

They say 'any press is good press' so I can't really complain. I heard several people inquired about me directly after it aired! I just want to say that the shelter environment is extremely chaotic and you'll find that some of my neighbors and I don't really show well in the shelter. If you talk to a friendly staff member, they can recommend a good fit for your lifestyle or talk to you about what we're really like once we're outside of our kennel. Don't judge a dog by its shelter behavior!!

You were portrayed as a bad boy in your TV debut, what do you have to say about that stereotype?

Beyond me being labeled a bad boy, I’m really not a bad dog. I just need to get to know people outside of the kennel environment and I’m not a love at first sight kinda guy. I simply reacted to a stranger leaning into my kennel in the footage you saw.

If I were to be the stereotypical TV bad boy then I’m a lot like Don Draper from Mad Men. Everyone that sees my picture wants to get to know me because I am so dashingly handsome but I have an emotional delicacy about me (like Don does) that keeps my quirks and working dog, herding tendencies from driving my friends away and instead I draw them in like bees to a flower. They all want a chance to meet me but only a few are willing to try. I’ll never Netflix and chill on the first date so don’t expect me to be down with that.

Anything else you’d like to add, Max?

I hope my forever home is out there waiting to find me and they will come meet me soon. I’d like to thank Mike and all the staff and volunteers who have become my friends during my time with APA!. They’ve all stuck with me through all my quirks and they are the reason I am here today to talk to you. Thank you APA!.